Okara

Description
Okara or soy pulp is a white or yellowish pulp consisting of insoluble parts of the soybean which is filtered in when maling soy milk. It is part of the traditional cuisines of Japan, Korea, and China, and since the 20th century has also been used in the vegetarian cuisines of Western nations.

Ingredients
Okara is low in fat, high in fiber, and also contains protein, calcium, iron, and riboflavin. It contains 76 to 80% moisture, 20 to 24% solids and 3.5 to 4.0% protein. On a dry weight basis okara contains 24% protein, 8 to 15% fats,and 12 to 14.5% crude fiber. It contains 17% of the protein from the original soybeans.

Uses
While relatively flavourless when eaten on its own, it can be used in stews (such as the Korean biji-jjigae) or in porridges, or as a taste neutral addition to bread and pastry doughs. In Japan it is used in a side dish called unohana, which consists of okara cooked with soy sauce, mirin, sliced carrots, burdock root and shiitake mushrooms. Occasionally unohana is used as a substitute for the rice in sushi.

Okara can also be fermented with the fungus Rhizopus oligosporus to make okara tempeh (called tempe gembus in Indonesian).

Okara is also eaten in the Shandong cuisine of eastern China by steaming a wet mixture of okara that has been formed into blocks of zha doufu; literally "tofu from (soy) sediment/residue"), also known as xiao doufu or cai doufu,literally "little tofu" or "vegetable tofu"). Often the dish is made directly from ground soybeans without first turning it into okara. The texture of this dish vaguely resembles polenta.

It often is used as an ingredient for vegetarian burger patties.

Recipes

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